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Welcome to Our Blog

WELCOME TO OUR BLOG

As anyone who has participated in UConn's Education Abroad in Cape Town will tell you, there are no words to adequately explain the depth of the experiences, no narratives to sufficiently describe the hospitality of the people, and no pictures to begin to capture the exquisite scenery. Therefore this blog is only intended to provide an unfolding story of the those co-educators who are traveling together as companions on this amazing journey.

As Resident Director of this program since 2008 it is once again my privilege and honor to accompany another group of remarkable students to this place I have come to know and love.

In peace, with hope,
Marita McComiskey, PhD

(marita4peace@gmail.com)

Friday, April 8, 2016

Alex L bittersweet week at Eros


This past week at my internship at Eros School has been bitter sweet.  I had a fantastic conversation with my mentor Sam, the school Speech Therapist about the brain damage involved with Cerebral Palsy, the different types of diagnoses, and how every child with Cerebral Palsy is very different, making the therapy process interesting. I wonder why it took me so long to finally realize it, but in that moment I completely realized that this was exactly what I cannot wait to do with my career. It was extremely fascinating for me to be learning about the disorders these children suffer with, but it was so saddening to then learn how they will most likely not get the treatment and therapy they need because of their financial situations. I read through the children’s files to find that the vast majority of their parents abuse drugs and alcohol, have very little education and are having children at very young ages. This was hard to come to terms with because it almost seems “normal” unfortunately to live those circumstances when living in underprivileged areas, and when these people are having children who need special attention, often times they cannot afford it, which then puts the child at even more of a disadvantage. There are so many international students as well as interns from local universities who do their practical’s and internships at Eros which is fantastic for the children because they are receiving an exceptional amount of therapy that they wouldn’t be able to get without the students being there; and individualized attention is the most valuable thing for these children so they don’t fall too far behind in the classrooms. I sometimes feel as though my time at Eros hasn’t been very productive because I usually do very basic tasks with the kids, but I realized that every tiny thing I do does help them simply because they are getting the one on one attention and therapy they would not have gotten if I was not there. It is going to be very difficult leaving in a couple of weeks because the kids and I have gotten to know each other and almost used to a routine that is going to be hard to break.  Although it is sad to think that I will be leaving soon, I still can’t get over what an incredible experience it has been to intern there and to have learned so much. I certainly plan on keeping in touch with Sam, and staying updated on how the kiddos are doing…and who knows, maybe I will come back to visit.

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